


Ordinary Fool

by batterwitch_dumb_basses



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Timeline, Broken Eridan, Gen, Multi, ampora bloodline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-03-11 14:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3329270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batterwitch_dumb_basses/pseuds/batterwitch_dumb_basses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eridan ran away instead of confronting Feferi, and has not been taking care of himself on the meteor. Gamzee found him, and Dave volunteers to take care of the seadweller.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There was a silence all around the corridor, before Eridan ran down it, choking back sobs. Feferi and Sollux had been on the horn pile, having what basically looked like a fucking feelings jam. Again. He'd been horrified to find his wand raised, but had rushed past Kanaya and her stupid matriorb on the transportalizer to the nutrition block and then his own block. Luckily for him no one was in the nutrition block.  
Purple tinted tears continued to slip down his cheeks before he swallowed the next sob down with difficulty and checked through his sylladex for the stuff he'd grabbed.  
Enough food? Check.  
Books? Check.  
He'd thrown away the wand Kanaya made, snapping it in half and leaving it in the corridor near the main room. He didn't need it any more. He couldn't use it to protect anyone, so why use it? He had no idea where on the meteor he was, but....  
He did know that it was a long way away from anyone else.  
That was good enough for him. He didn't want to be near them. None of them cared for him anyway.  
He moved into a big dark room, feeling his skin prickle a little which probably meant his bioluminescence was activating. Sure enough, a purple glow lit up a little way around him and he used it to navigate to the back of the big room, in between two machines. He pulled his cape off and wrapped himself in it, curling up there.  
Running away? If he warned anyone, they'd tell him it was a ploy for attention. That it was typical of him, a tantrum. He just didn't want to be around anyone at all. He didn't trust in anyone, didn't believe them anymore. They were all liars, or they dealt with him like they would deal with anyone else. He was no longer a special person to anyone, if he ever had been. If he'd ever been more than an obligation, a complex, a time bomb.   
Especially to Feferi. Especially to the girl he had loved more than anything in the world, who didn't want to deal with him. Why should she? He wasn't good enough for her, or dislikable enough for Sollux, and he'd been swiftly replaced as soon as she dropped him.   
And she looked happier than ever now. He couldn't harm that, and he didn't want to. She was the one who deserved happiness.  
Everything was always so fucked up.

 

Karkat had been drained, drained as fuck. The humans had arrived and what had they found? Gamzee had gone on a rampage, killing Equius and Nepeta, and hurting Feferi badly enough to knock her unconscious, before Sollux had managed to somehow knock him out by fucking around with his psionics and metal beams. Vriska had killed Tavros and Terezi had killed Vriska as 'justice'. Kanaya had been momentarily killed by the metal beam Sollux had used to knock Gamzee out, but had revived after Karkat had happened upon the scene, screamed, successfully not thrown up and kissed her to bring her back to life. Well, she'd revived because she was a jade blood and a rainbow drinker, as her dreamself was dead, but she'd thanked him. Even after that, Karkat had become moirails with Gamzee, which made him happy and nervous at the same time. Having a requited pale crush was pretty damn nice, after all, but at this time Gamzee was as stable as a gas canister wobbling over a lit match on a fraying piece of string.  
Feferi since the death of Nepeta had been a little...unhappy with Gamzee. She'd gone up to him and hissed at him, moving her earfins at him in a dangerous way that reminded him of a cat unsheathing its claws, and Gamzee had moved his hands up to mimic them mockingly. Sollux had glared the whole time at them and then gone off. Karkat of course had then gone to find him and let him rant.   
Apparently, Feferi was doing a sort of black stupid thing with Gamzee, which was kind of muscling in on Sollux's previous crush. Although that had always been vacillating, if he understood the moron right.  
And Eridan?  
Who knew. Really.  
Kanaya had found his wand snapped in the hallway the day Gamzee went sober. Since then, no one had seen him. He wasn't in his block, he wasn't in any of the scoped out rooms and the only logical conclusion was that he had gone off deep into the unexplored part of the meteor. They had, of course, had a little look for him, but as Kanaya said, they could only do so much and still keep alive. Feferi had seemed upset for a few days, but now? She was pretty much as she always had been since they entered the game about Eridan. Apparently, she believed he was just throwing a sulk, and 'if he wanted to be flounder, he'd be flounder.'   
(He'd asked Gamzee if he had killed Eridan, but Gamzee said he hadn't. He'd left it alone after that, not wanting to give him any ideas).  
And apparently, Eridan just ... Didn't want to be found. Not a sign of him anywhere, although some food supplies were missing from the nutrition block. His shitty pile of wands was still there according to Terezi, and nothing else had gone from his room.  
Sighing, he watched as Rose politely talked to Feferi, glancing over to Kanaya all the while, and Aradia smiled as she chatted away to Sollux, who looked happy but confused. Dave and Terezi were talking, which annoyed him, and Rose coughed suddenly.  
"Weren't there more of you?" she asked, looking around casually.  
Gamzee turned away and Karkat glared.  
"Yes, there were fucking more of us, but our highbloods - Feferi, Equius and...the douchebag excluded - went on rages. There've been a few deaths."  
It hurt to say it, it really did. He looked down at his shoes right after that. Honestly, he shouldn't have lost anyone. A leader didn't let people die...  
"Is the rude one dead?" Rose enquires, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had occurred after Karkat's words.  
Feferi snorted. "You mean Eridan? No, boat none of us have sea-n him in a week or so. He went off into the meteor! The boat we haven't explored." She tossed her hair a bit. "He'll wear himself out with this latest tantrum eventuna-lily!"  
Rose blinked. "You didn't look for him?"  
"Of course we did." Kanaya tutted. "But he'll be back when he wants to."   
Rose smiled slowly at that, before Aradia clapped her hands.   
"Right! Me and Sollux will launch us now! Let's go!"

That had been a week ago now. One week of one hundred and fifty five. They were fucking stuck now! He growled, and threw himself on the horn pile.  
Feferi had taken to hanging out with Kanaya, Rose and Terezi, who seemed to have a girly group going on. She'd been upset about Aradia and Sollux seeming to have made up, as it were, and by Gamzee ignoring her (but not too upset. It was, after all, black flirting of a sort), but she had cheered up and actually started hanging out with Terezi, who was quite distraught at the death of Nepeta. This meant that she'd been hanging out with Sollux as well, who had been hanging out with Terezi. They were acting awkward, which was understandable, but it was heightened by the fact that occasionally Sollux would disappear as he went off into the dreambubbles with Aradia.   
A honk drew his attention to the vents, and he slid it back and stood away, watching Gamzee wriggle out of the gap, dusty and coughing.  
"He don't look so good." He looked up at Karkat.   
Karkat frowned and coughed as the dust hit the back of his throat. "Who the fuck doesn't look so good? Sollux? Or Dave? Didn't I tell you to stop creeping on them?" Ever since Gamzee had discovered the vents, he'd been crawling around the meteor, which had led to a few uncomfortable moments. Some of which Karkat had definitely not wanted to hear about. And then nearly thrown up, because of course he had anyway.  
"Fish bro. He ain't eating, think he ran out of food." He stood up and brushed himself off. "Should I bring him some of Solbro's wicked cooking?"  
Karkat gaped.  
"Eridan. You mean Eridan? You found him? You FOUND ERIDAN?!" he shrieked, and Gamzee frowned.  
"Didn't all up and need to find the fishbro. Known he was in the big motherfucking room with the machines for a week or two, maybe two. I forget how long. He glows bright as a motherfucking lil purple star, so I found him." He grinned wide and happy, and Karkat almost choked.  
"You knew? Why the FUCK didn't you say anything?"  
"Y'all didn't up and ask me, Karbro." Gamzee now looked confused. "Anyway, my wicked pitch fishsis said he don't want to be found. He talks and all, Karbro. He thinks we're all liars and don't all up and trust our scary selves. He don't think much of any of us."  
The nubby-horned troll sat down again in the horn pile, trying to process this. It was, of course, kind of a shock to hear that. Sometimes Gamzee could be ...actually really fucking smart without meaning to. If Eridan didn't want to be around them, it probably wasn't the best idea to go after him. Especially if he didn't trust them.   
"Man, Tavbro would know what to do..." he heard Gamzee mutter to himself. "He was good with that sort of thing."  
"Tavros was good with animals, Gamzee." Karkat tapped his fingers against his jawline before blinking. Wow. His thinkpan had chucked out an idea that for once might not fuck up.  
"He doesn't know what's happened....He doesn't know the humans aside from Rose...Maybe he'll trust them?" He turned. "Gamzee, you think you could ask Rose and Kanaya to come here?"  
Gamzee nodded, before taking Karkat's hand and leading him into the horn pile.  
"Wicked cuddle session first." He pulled him down into his arms  
"Gamzee-" Karkat tried to struggle away as he could feel himself relaxing.  
"Cuddles come before anything, Karbro." A large bony hand began papping at his cheek.  
"GODAMNIT MAKARA -"  
"Shoosh. Cuddles now. Fishbro later."  
Two alternating purrs could be heard echoing from outside the room, if anyone had been listening.

"Let me try to understand this. The rather rude one was found?" Rose lounged on the sofa and Kanaya smoothed her own skirt out. Karkat nodded, feeling Gamzee shuffle closer to him.  
"Gamzee says he knows where he is, but he isn't...very well, as it were. He's more...weak?" He turned to the Capricorn, who simply looked down.  
"Ain't eating," he mumbled. "Ain't all happy and right in his pan."   
Feferi huffed. "He never took care of him-shell-f! He's always been bad at that!" She still looked very worried, and Gamzee growled a little at her. She growled back, before Karkat flicked Gamzee's arm to stop him. This wasn't the time for pitch flirting.  
"Gamzee said he doesn't trust us...but he hasn't met you humans. So I was wondering if you could....well, help us get him? I mean, he knows Rose, but he can be really irrational and we really need to get him out of that room. He doesn't want to be around --"  
"That's simply silly. He knows us!" Kanaya seemed rather worried as she leant forward, and Karkat shook his head.   
"It isn't going to fucking happen like that, Kanaya. You can come with me and Gamzee - we're going to get him with Dave and Rose. Gamzee will lead us from the vents, but Feferi, Terezi, and Sollux are to stay right the fuck here."  
Feferi nearly jumped out of her seat. "That just isn't fair! I want to come to see him! You--I--!"  
"Feferi, sit down!" Karkat stood up, with Gamzee behind him. "You can't, do you understand? You'll get upset!"  
"Why would I get upset? I'd be brine with it! He's --"  
"He's not well, Feferi! And he doesn't want you near him, okay? He doesn't want any troll near him and don't you dare, don't even dare tell me you'd be okay with that because I know you wouldn't be." Karkat huffed through his nose and Feferi blinked before her lip began to wobble and her eyes teared up. Sollux immediately leapt up, but Kanaya got there before him, patting her hair and making soothing noises.  
"B-Bu-but..." she sniffed, pale pink tears running down her face.  
Dave stood up. "This sounds fun. Always wanted a pet fish, never had anything much beside that one worm of mine. Are we doing this? We're doing this." He grinned and Terezi cackled.  
"Wow, cool kid! Never pegged you as one for pets!" She grinned in his general direction and he grinned back.  
"Alright, barrel of idiots, while we all adore the way our bile sacs churn when you perform to levels of increasing moronity, can we get sorted? We need to go get the fish face before he collapses or kills himself with stupidity or whatever the fuck he's planning on doing." Karkat stood up only to see Dave follow Gamzee out of the room, and rushed after them. Kanaya and Rose strode past him hand in hand, and the sound of Feferi's sobs followed them, while Terezi seemed to be staying where she was.

"So, let me get this straight. The ego guy ran off because he found Sollux and Feferi being happy and thought he wasn't needed anymore or something, you found his weapon broken and blah blah blah. But he didn't take enough food and Troll of the Vents noticed he wasn't looking so hot." Dave turned to Rose. "What's so bad?"  
She cleared her throat. "Mr Ampora is....He's a seadweller, a cold blooded one rather than like Feferi, whose body temperature regulates itself whenever possible, as you remember. If he isn't warm, Eridan becomes unwell. He'd have needed to eat more on the meteor to keep his body temperature and health steady, from what Kanaya tells me, so if he didn't realise that beforehand his health and mental capacity would have been dipping below normal, especially if he didn't have a moirail to take care of him - not that I condemn Feferi, as everyone has the right to free will and it doesn't look like they were well matched anyway and your moirail needs to be right for you, not just an obligation, from what I have been informed by Kanaya - so he was already compromised. This is probably the reason for his departure in the first place. Kanaya was setting up to take him into her care, but she wasn't too sure. Eridan can be rather prickly when it comes to advice--"  
"Tell me something I don't fucking know..." Karkat grumbled under his breath.  
"Either way, he won't be very well. It's a good thing Gamzee thought to mention it."   
Kanaya looked up. "Which way, Gamzee?" she called upwards  
"Left here, Kansis." There was a clunking sound and an unhappy honk.   
"Gamzee-fucking-Makara, would it kill you to not bounce your horns off of every single fucking piece of metal up there?" Karkat asked, but it was easy to see he was worried, and he pretended not to hear Dave sniggering. A happy little honk was the only reply he got, before there was the sound of Gamzee shuffling onward.   
They followed him further into the darkness, their path lit by Kanaya, who blinked as Gamzee knocked on the vent and opened the door to the room they were in front of.  
Which turned out to not be such a room as a gigantic hall filled with bubbling or horribly still tanks. A couple were empty, and machines with tiny blinking lights were apparently the only light source. There were a lot of them, all around the room.  
Gamzee dropped down from the vents, landing on his feet before looking around. A slow and lazy smile spread across his face as he apparently spotted something.  
A purple glow, very faint.   
As they neared it, they could hear a sort of quiet chittering, and Karkat wanted nothing more right then to have the stupid egotistical idiot right next to him, whining about his quadrants or loneliness, instead of seeing what he had done to himself.

 

Eridan shivered and whined in his little sleeping place between the machines, cold despite his cape and feeling like everything ached. He'd run out of food about two days ago, but luckily he still had a few drinks. He'd tried to stand up the other day, as he'd found a water tank on the other side of the room which he had been swimming in, but hadn't been able to reach it, falling heavily to his knees. His bioluminescence was still active, which was good...Except if that meant people could see him.   
He was scared, but what was more terrifying was being seen like this. If he was seen like this, he could easily be killed.If he was weak, he was as good as dead. Fef didn't need him anymore, he was surplus. A light made him wince slightly and he looked up, not seeing properly, not recognising much. Shadowy figures. Some of them didn't have horns that he could see.  
"There he is!" Oh, cod, they found him. They'd found him and were going to kill him.  
He let out an unhappy little noise and moved back. They - if they saw him - no! His fins flared out before a delicate pale hand - not a troll - why not a troll? - settled on his arm and a soft 'shush' sound followed it.   
"He's a little delirious, possible malnutrition - he's probably not thinking straight, we need to move him -" Familiar voice, familiar and he didn't like it. He tried to scoot back again, whimpering. Fingers skittered over his ribs and he tried to move away from them - no no no - don't - they were too close!   
"Oh, he's thin, isn't he - look out, he's thrashing about, Dave." A cool voice and then two hands were holding his arms and he felt terror grip him, crying out as he struggled against the hands holding him, hearing someone swear in an unfamiliar voice.  
"Oh, shit..." Unhappy voice, familiar. "Eridan, don't fucking cry..." Wet on his cheeks and hands on his cheeks, hands and no, no, they were just going to kill him--  
"Shhhh. Calm down. Wow, you have some claws there! You're like Kitkat. Have to say, I would have waited until the second date for that. Maybe not though. Depends on the person." Unfamiliar soothing hands petting at his cheeks and he remembered a time when Fef would do the same, and could feel himself relaxing into it, because oh cod, it had been sweeps since--  
A thin hand went around the back of his neck and pressed something, causing him to suddenly panic as black crept at the corners of his vision and something pulled him into itself, sending him spiralling into unconsciousness.

Dave sighed with relief. "Pressure point?" Man, those claws could sting! His hand had pink scratches across the back of them. Not cool.  
"Yes." Rose looked troubled. "Oh, dear....He really is kind of bad at this whole taking care of himself thing. Feferi was right. I have to say, he did at least take food, so we can rule out attention seeking starvation, or deliberate neglect of himself. It just looks like he really is truly bad at surviving on his own...But it doesn't look like it was the result of just this act of stunning stupidity that did it. I wonder if he knows actually how to eat properly..."  
Karkat looked torn, whereas Kanaya was simply looking Eridan over. Gamzee was stood beside Karkat, and Rose sighed.  
"Well, Dave, you volunteered before to keep him as a pet. I don't see why seeing him should change your opinion - just remember, a seadwelling troll is for life, not just Christmas."   
Dave looked up. "What. Of course I know that, don't you worry. I'll keep him happy and safe. Even get him chew toys."  
"Strider, you can barely take care of yourself, not just another person! Besides, what the fuck do you know about seadwellers?"  
"They glow, they have fins, and this one used to be a little shit," Dave replied, grinning.   
Karkat growled. "So. Next to nothing." How utterly fucking useless. "Well, I can ask Feferi to make a little set of notes, but for now, can we please just get him out of here before he wakes up or we die from whatever is in here." He looked nervously around at the shadowy figures in the jar. Who knew with these things...  
"Of course. Dave, if you would?" Rose started to walk towards the door.  
Dave scooped up Eridan into his arms, blinking a little at how light he was. He wouldn't have expected it from a troll, but it probably had something to do with the fact that Eridan hadn't been eating properly. It was odd getting a good look at him, seeing the delicate fins up close, and the glowing purple spots start to fade.   
He'd been expecting someone completely different to this boy who looked as though he could break with just a touch.  
He began to follow Rose back towards the main part of the meteor, before turning around to look what Eridan had been resting against. "Hey. Karkles. What are those?"   
Karkat snapped at him for the nickname, but turned to look. "Just....books, I think. They must be his..." He picked them up, looking them over. "Wizard books. What the hell."   
Kanaya followed after Rose, while Gamzee looked at Karkat. "So what we gonna do, bro?"   
"You're going to help me carry these damn books is what."


	2. Chapter 2

Dave sat with Eridan's head in his lap, petting his hair gently with one hand and the other hand resting on his side, the seadweller still not having woken up from his Rose-induced sleep. It was weird seeing seadweller this close - due to the fish princess having her hands full of social things and things that did not include talking to Dave, he had not been so close to this before, this mix of different biologies and taut yet snapped something, although the latter was likely something completely unique to Eridan. He'd shuffled the seadweller this way in order to keep him from thrashing as he had been doing, and perversely it was the lack of comments from the others that had his face flushing lightly.  
Kanaya sat nearby, knitting something in light gold and cream, which looked a hell of a lot like the scarf Eridan was already wearing, but of course less tattered, while Rose was scribbling in a notebook.  
"I may have to resort to Karkat's books again, or ask Feferi herself to elaborate on these different things, but this care plan seems to be a good one - for the moment, that is. Eridan needs to be taken care of, until he may be trusted to care for himself again, with the terrible way he's managing now." She sighed. "I would alchemise some tablets for him, but his kind don't take tablets too well. Something to do with their immune system needing to be self sufficient, I think Miss Peixes said, but for now, we'll just try and deal with him as he is." She kissed Kanaya's forehead gently as she passed, and looked over to Dave. "You are going to uphold your end of the bargain, you do realise. You will take care of Eridan and check up with me after each day has passed for the first two weeks. If you fail this, I will take his care upon my own hands, which would be good for research, but bad for his emotions, as he knows me very well, and does not know you at all. Besides, given some evidence, he would prefer you to care for him rather than I. We have talked before, and if you remember me telling you, I fear it did not go very well or do anything to help him like me.” Rose didn’t look too penitent.  
He blinked at her. "So you're saying he doesn't like you, and this is going to be a lot of work? Man, Lalonde, not only did you swallow the dictionary, you're gonna have the dictionary's babies. It's like you're being so ironic, you did the hatesexy with the thing you're quoting--"  
"That is quite surprisingly disgusting, Dave. I'm actually willing to create a tiny alchemised trophy for you for that metaphor." Rose brushed her hair behind her ears. "However, you must promise to keep the deal."  
"Fine, what the fuck ever, I promise." He petted Eridan's hair softly again and watched the seadweller press closer to him. "But, Rose, look. He's friendly."  
"Did he follow you home?" Rose inquired drily, a smile soft and wry on her face. "Fine. Make sure not to fail. Some would have your guts for garters."  
Kanaya looked up from her knitting at that, blinking very softly before smiling casually at Dave. He nodded at her, not needing to ask exactly who would have his guts for garters, before noticing that Eridan's fins were twitching frantically. "Hey, what the shit?" he asked Rose in a panic, trying to calm Eridan down.  
"He must be waking up," Rose hummed, walking over to the transportalizer casually, Kanaya following behind her. "Have fun!"  
Welp. This would surely be awkward.  
====>  
Floating. A sea of darkness all about him, and occasionally words making no sense invading his hearing. And then, he was floating towards light, and his eyelids flickering to see dark circles...almost circles? Was it a lusus? …The circles stared back at him.  
He blinked at them, his vision focusing, until it clicked that they were a pair of shades, and he stared.  
"A-Are you....W-who are you? Am I in the afterlife?" He reached a hand, which was stopped by another hand, pale and strange. Not a troll's. Maybe an....oh, fuck, the angels surely had him in death--  
His panicking hands were caught, and a calming noise being made, before he took a proper look at the 'angel'.  
"I'm not God. Common mistake, I know. I'm Dave Strider, I'm also pretty fucking awesome--"  
"You're a human."  
"Sure as fuck am, Bubbles." The human - Dave? Oh, Ter's human, why was he here?- petted his hair softly and Eridan heard himself chirp gently before flushing and trying to flail. Dave just laughed at him and Eridan flushed further, earfins flattening against his neck.  
"So, I am dead?" he asked, confused. "It looks like the meteor here, but I guess heawen really does shape itself around your memories. Or hell. Either one..." He stopped, as Dave was shaking his head. Maybe he wasn't dead. Oh, cod, maybe he was still stuck on this plane of reality, where Feferi hated him, and this human for some reason was cradling him like a wriggler who'd had a bad dream.  
"You were very nearly dead, Fishbabe. Makara found your little hideaway and told Karkles you weren't looking so hot, so we launched an awesome search for your salty ass and I volunteered to nurse you. Sadly we couldn't alchemise a cute little red and white outfit, so I'm my regular sexy self."  
Eridan gaped before flushing purple. "Y-You're bein' stupid..." he huffed and then turned away. He really didn't need to imagine this human's stupid pasty ass in a nurse's outfit right now. "W-Why are you doin' this?" He turned back to face him. "I can take care a myself!"  
"I hate to break it to you, Bubbles, but like fuck you can. What part of nearly dead does not hit home? Seriously, if your batter on your team is that bad at his job, it's time to sack that dick. He has missed the ball so many times that the crowd wants to throw him off a plank. They want to see him drown. He cannot hit home for the life of him."  
Eridan stared at him in complete confusion before attempting to sit up with a grumpy face. Dave's hand on his back brought a fresh wave of blushing to his face.  
"Here's the thing, though. If I don't take care of you, Rose will, and I will be in deep disgrace. We could make some crappy deal, about maybe how you get to do something with me while you heal from what you did. We have two weeks of me basically pampering the shit out of you, and if you get bored I can't walk you on a leash."  
Eridan growled under his breath at the words. He didn’t want that human taking care of him, but at least it was a human and not one of the trolls who surely would cull him on sight. "I ain't your fuckin' pet--"  
"Not yet, sweetheart. We don't use words like that in public and frankly even though I am alright with taking care of you there is a set time limit before you and me can discuss kinks."  
"Am I seriously fuckin' stuck w-with you?"  
"You could teach me how to do something if you hate the idea so much, how about that? Apparently you're very into history these days, and I have no fucking clue about Alternia bullshit. Teach me, senpai, for I have sinned." Dave’s lips twitched as he finished speaking, making the seadweller feel as though he was seriously being mocked.  
"You're fuckin' ridiculous!" Eridan tried to roll away but Dave hauled him back to sit by him, basically cuddling him, which Eridan growled more at. How dare this stupid human lay hands on him like this, when he just wanted to be alone again. Still, the other was warm…  
"Says the guy with a cutesy little cape, but no, seriously, teach me your history. Pass the time." Dave looked down at him with a small smile and Eridan growled.  
"That's a huge fuckin' lot a history, you realise. W-Where ewen w-would you w-want to start?"  
"Karkat says bloodlines are wide and varied, so might as well do that. Your family history. Go. After half an hour I...shit, where did I put that plan..." He scrambled towards the table, picking up the notebook that Rose had left on there. "Okay, we need to go get food after half an hour, and then we need to go to your room and you can continue teaching me. Sounds fair?”  
Eridan huffed deeply at him but thought for a minute, and shrugged. "Fine. Long as you get me some of that nice pink fish from your stupid planet...Leastways, Gam says it’s nice…" He screeched when Dave tugged him into a further cuddle. “Dammit!”  
"Canned tuna? Done. Tuna mayo sandwich might be good if you’ve never had any before . So, tell me." He prodded Eridan's cheek. "Eridan. Tell me."  
"Fuckin' hell - Okay. The first thing is that the earliest record a my line is Orphaner Dualscar, an' I don't doubt that you know-w about that."  
"Yeah, I know. I got told all about him by Kanaya."  
"Yeah, so. The next Orphaner w-we know-w of w-was a low-wer colour, not an Ampora. The most know-wn Ampora after that is a high rankin' Amiable. A quad for hire, that’s w-what an Amiable is, but high class as fuck. His name is Jandra, an' he's the best at his job."  
"He's a concubine?" Dave asked, incredulous. Eridan scowled.  
"Yeah. Basically. But Jandra Ampora is the best you can get. He dances, he can do any quad w-with practiced ease, an' gets a lot of admirers, ones high in society as well as any guttersnipe that can pay for his serwices. He can make good conwersation, an' he's the best for Imperial gossip. The Empress newer hires him, but he's her best source a information, because eweryone know-ws him. There w-was ewen a lewel for the organisation that trained him of how-w good you w-were w-when I w-was young, but there w-was also a piercin' named the Jandral Piercin', for your neck gill, the middle one that's proper fuckin' sensitiwe. Not many seadw-wellers can stomach hawin’ it."  
"Jandra might hawe been the best fucker, but he w-was pretty fuckin' smart. Any tiny rebellion? He seduces someone inwolwed in it, gets the details by playin' it innocent an' interested in the big brawe rebel's w-work, then takes it back and reports it. He's killed w-when he's sewenty sw-weeps old by a jealous ex-lower, an at his funeral, most of the high rankin' people a the day turn up to honour him. For turnin' up, they're in the clutches a the Empress until the day they die." Eridan coughed, and Dave handed him a bottle of water.  
"Pretty damn metal...Wait, you can get piercings on your gills?" Dave asked, wincing in sympathy. He knew from Rose that fins and gills were as sensitive as the neck they were part of, and piercings had to hurt.  
"They're okay if you can handle it," Eridan scoffed. "Hah, you think that's bad? Try gettin' tattoos in the traditional w-way."  
"Tell me about that." Dave frowned suddenly. "Eridan, do you have piercings?"  
"Yes, and yes." Eridan found himself snuggling into Dave and pretended to be shifting to be comfortable. "Traditional tattoos are--"  
"Where do you have piercings?"  
"Obwiously my gills. The ones on my side. An’ I got a couple here, on my earfins, they don’t hurt as much. Gills do though, I near passed out." He’d been lectured and laughed at by Fef, and the memory made him turn his face away. Harsh words had passed between them, and it wasn’t pleasant to recall that.  
"Can I see?" Dave peered at the troll’s shirt and Eridan squeaked with embarrassment.  
"Fuck no, you can't see! That's like...Uh...Look, it ain't appropriate! Damnit!"  
"Fine," Dave grumbled, "tell me about the tattoos!"  
"No w-way, you'll fuckin' ask to see them, you w-weird pink perwert!"  
"So you do have tattoos? Will you say yes if I do?" Dave asked, intrigued, and Eridan tried to wriggle out of his arms with a yowl, obviously angry.  
"Fine! Fuck! I won't ask! Who's the next Ampora that makes the books?" Dave asked quickly, and Eridan settled down immediately.  
“M’only this close because you’re w-warm.” Eridan shuffled close, relaxing more as he remembered the next famous person in his bloodline. “But...Okay, so there’s this female next, Efluet Ampora. She’s a Spymistress, keeping an eye on things for the Condesce, at least until she hits thirty sw-weeps. She then goes into the fleet, becomes an Admiral an’ runs the best ship bar the Empress’ to hit the galaxy, an’ captures a little outcrop you could barely call a planet. It’s called Fluens, after her, an’ becomes a place to manufacture weapons—“ He coughed again and growled, before Dave patted his back, letting him cough more and making a face.  
“I’m good. I’m alright.” He held his hands up only to have a bottle of apple juice handed to him.  
“If you wear your voice out you’ll leave my learning woefully inadequate, and I got to stress that I really do not want that. Drink up.”  
He frowned, before shrugging and taking a sip. Had to be better than Faygo, didn’t it? His eyes widened as the sugar hit his tongue, before deciding it was actually very pleasant, and taking another gulp, gills closing so none spilled from his neck, which he guessed would just make him look even more pathetic. He made a pleased noise and Dave grinned widely.  
“You like it?” he asked, and Eridan nodded, sipping at the bottle and letting Dave wrap his arms more securely around him. Dave sighed happily.  
“Yes. Hell yes. Hell fucking yes, I have converted you to the best drink on the planet—“  
“Hah. You’ve never tasted highblood cider or wine, that’s really nice, better than this. It’s sweet sometimes, sometimes not, but always pretty damn nice.” Eridan kept sipping at the apple juice and Dave moved to peer at him.  
“Isn’t that pretty much alcohol?” he asked slowly, and Eridan shrugged.  
“It’s still nice. A lot of it was stacked in the cawe beneath my hiwe, don’t know-w w-where from, but it’s the nicest thing. I didn’t get to stack it in my sylladex, ‘cause you can’t put alcohol there until you hit nine sw-weeps. W-wish I had.” Eridan had gotten absolutely drunk on the stuff, hidden in a cave feeling like all was right with the world, brain scrambled and unable to dwell on anything. He’d made friends with a starfish lusus that he’d found on the bottom of the ocean after momentarily forgetting how to float, staying there all day and all the next night, telling the starfish about how stars should be touchable, and listening to it sing of lost grubs. He’d cried, and then woke up on shore, sober with one hell of a hangover and no memory of how to reach the other lusus, and he’d had to swim back to his hive and throw up there. Fef hadn’t messaged him in all that time,and he’d never told her what had happened, only that he’d found the alcohol. Her only response was not to touch it because it was probably very potent.  
“That doesn’t sound safe to me. Maybe you better stick to AJ at the moment, huh?” Dave asked, and Eridan nodded in agreement. It was very nice to drink, this human soft drink, and he snuggled back into the human as he coughed again.  
“So Efluet is set up to take care of this colony, before her kismesis, an oliveblood named Lystan, comes and taunts her for settling down like a good little pet or somethin’ like that. Details aren’t clear, but the Admiral ruins her reputation because her and Lystan run around the whole colony making out and ewen fuckin’ in some places. People mostly turn a blind eye but Lystan leads her back to the ship for some reason, probably to go further if I’m bein’ honest, but they get done for it by someone an’ w-when they get back the Empress tells her she’s retirin’ to this little planet out in the system alongside Lystan. It’s one a the fleet’s great scandals. I’m glad eweryone know-ws Dualscar more, but Efluet – w-we just got to apologise for that trawesty. She did good, but there’s actually a rule made, somethin’ like ‘keep explicit shit in priwate for the lowe a all that’s holy’.”  
Dave began to laugh. “She got kicked out of the fleet for PDA? And you’re serious? She seriously gets a rule made for her? Badass!”  
Eridan raised an eyebrow but grudgingly smiled. “Yeah. I mean, I’m pretty sure that my bloodline grow-ws from that point on because a’ all a’ the rewenge fuckin’ her an’ Lystan get up to on the little planet. I don’t ewen know-w w-when she died, because her records are blank from then on, and the only person w-who could get to them w-was Sollux, an’ I didn’t w-want him bein’ an ass about it.”  
Dave grinned as Eridan carried on talking. He didn’t see how everyone thought this guy was so terrible after all. He was actually pretty cute when he was talking about history.  
====>  
Rose was sat comfortable leaning against Kanaya, who was still knitting the scarf that she’d started for Eridan.  
“Are you sure it’s wise to give him a present in his aspect colours, dearest?” she asked, and Kanaya stopped for a minute to stroke her fingers gently through Rose’s hair, smiling at her.  
“It’s to keep him warm, my sweet, and he needs to be reminded that he still is a hero. Who knows what he would have done if he had not kept his temper? And he needs taking care of. Feferi is a very sweet girl, but she hasn’t been able to do that well. She does it out of feeling responsible, and I feel that if we make the effort, we can manage him.” Kanaya sighed and Rose looked up at her softly, shifting closer until she could brush her lips against Kanaya’s cheek.  
“We will save him. If Dave has no other qualities, he has stubbornness, and he does want to help. He seemed very happy to take care of Eridan, and I will help as far as I can.” She felt Kanaya move, seeing the knitting being placed down, and then two graceful arms wrapped around her waist and tugged her close.  
“I don’t want us to fail. I don’t want to lose this…” The jadeblood pressed her face into her neck and Rose wrapped her arms around Kanaya’s neck and pressed a kiss to the top of her head between her horns. She did not want to think about what would happen if they lost the game, after all. This was precious to her, Kanaya was so very precious to her.  
“We will not fail with this project…I don’t want to lose you either, Miss Maryam.” Kanaya looked up at her and hugged her more tightly.  
“My Rose…What would I do without you?” she murmured, and Rose smiled at her again.  
“Probably you would do as terribly as I would without you.” She smirked softly at the sight of the black lipstick smeared on Kanaya’s cheek. “Were you not focusing on the scarf?”  
“What scarf?”  
“Oh, I see…” Soft giggles were the only sound before silence fell.  
====>  
“You hake that back!”  
“Nah, fish sis, don’t think I feel like doin’ that right now. You’re a heretical little princess used to getting’ her way, ain’t you?”  
Feferi growled, high pitched, and Gamzee simply laughed. “If you don’t get your way, lil sis, you’ll be nicer, I think…” He moved forward and slung an arm around her shoulders. “An’ then maybe things will go better for you with all the motherfuckers you are always up and pining over like a kicked woofbeast.”  
“You’re an ass-shoal!” Feferi screeched, pushing his arm off her shoulders. Karkat groaned and covered his ears from the loud noises, turning towards Terezi.  
“Why are we the only sane ones? And by we, I obviously mean me, because the day you act sane is the day that the princess stops using puns . I mean, fuck, could they at least take it somewhere more private?”  
Terezi cackled and leant against him. “Well, Maryam and Rose are…occupying the library, currently, so I guess it’s futile to try sending them there…”  
“Have they even kissed yet? Is this just unresolved sexual –MOTHERGRUB’S THIRD SPHINCTER!” Karkat shielded his own eyes from the sight of Feferi suddenly biting at Gamzee’s lip, growling and tugging him out of the room while Terezi howled with laughter.  
“I smelt that! Oh, that’s the best, Karkles! I guess they’ll be busy making it official for a little while, then?” She cackled and flung an arm around his shoulders. “Good for them, though? And Mr Polka Dot Fake Grape was actually acting like a proper caliginous romantic, telling her so gently?”  
“It was practically a declaration, I know. It still sucks to have to witness that, for fucks’ sakes! I don’t want to see that happening! It isn’t nice!”  
“At least she didn’t shove her tongue down his throat, huh? And it will cheer her up from that moping she’s been doing. Although Sollux won’t be too pleased, he’ll throw a sulk again if I’m any judge!”  
Karkat made a strangled sound. “Terezi, you know that people make lists of things they don’t want to hear about their moirails doing, right? Because I’m really starting to see the point here. I don’t want to hear about this!”  
“Feferi has pretty sharp teeth, Gamzee should watch out where he lets them—“  
“NO, NOPE, NOT LISTENING, FUCK OFF!” Karkat stood up and began to run in the opposite direction, hands over his ears and eyes screwed shut before missing the door and glancing off the door frame, growling as he fell and hearing Terezi laugh so hard that he was sure she would also fall over.  
“Shut the livid fuck up, Pyrope.”  
“Aww, don’t worry, Karkles! I didn’t see a thing!”


	3. Chapter 3

Feferi walked through the meteor’s hallways, rubbing the stinging bite on her arm with a little growl. How dare he?! But it still had her feeling smug, and she knew that Gamzee definitely had a few worse bites.  
She froze, hearing Eridan’s voice, relaxed as he was talking, the happy tone to it making her almost lose every shred of self-control. He was here? He was right here, she could go in and hug him, make sure he was alright, he wasn’t dead, or unconscious, unconscious like Gamzee had seen him, taunted her with the possibilities even though Kanaya had asked her all the food and care Eridan might need. Her legs trembled slightly as she stepped forward, hand reaching for the door, before a zap to her hand had her yelp quietly and move back. Eridan’s voice stopped abruptly, and she heard Dave – Dave of all the people who could be with Eridan! – calming him down, saying ‘it was probably nothing’, before a hand dragged her by the arm.  
“FF, you aren’t allowed to thee him.” The voice had her freezing, and she looked up at Sollux with a glare, fiercely wishing she could push him aside and go in through the door anyway.  
“What do you know?!” she hissed, angry with Sollux for dragging her away, before she had a chance to see Eridan. So what if they hadn’t exactly been on good terms recently? So what if he’d thrown a tantrum? They had been moirails! He didn’t have the right to keep her away from Eridan!  
“I know that KN told me to keep guard in cathe you came by, FF. You two need to have a bit of time apart before you can thee him again. Lalonde’th orderth.” Sollux’s voice was gentle, but Feferi didn’t want to hear it.  
“What’s the worst that could happen?” She rubbed her sore hand, and he continued to tug her away, not looking at her properly.  
“He actually manageth to get himthelf dead when he runth away thith time, or Gamthee hurtth him to get to you. He hurtth you by mithtake. You hurt him by mithtake. Do you need me to go on, FF?” Sollux looked at her finally, expression unreadable. “I know you think everything will be fine, FF. Or that you want to think it tho you don’t have to fathe what the alternative ith. But Kanaya and Rothe don’t want you near him at the moment. I know you’re worried becauthe of the quethtionth they athked you, and GZ hath been winding you up. But you can’t, okay?”  
“Oh, why don’t you just mind your own business! Go play with Megido! You might as shell go back to the bubbles! Go on!” She pushed him away sharply, stomping away. “Fin! I won’t sea Eridan! I’ll reel in every-fin I’m eeling at the moment, bottle every-fin up like I had to do be-foam for him!”  
“It’th not for him, Feferi! You’re doing it to feel better about everything! Don‘t pretend that you’re thome thort of martyr!” Sollux glared at her, and she stuck her tongue out in response, ashamed of such a wriggler tactic, but not stopping until she reached her room, banging the door open and throwing herself onto the pile of cuttlefish plushes with a muffled scream, picking up her trident and throwing it across the room, where it hit the wall and fell to the floor with a clunk.  
“I’m not the one being an a-shoal! I’m not the one jelly-vanting off with Aradia Megido pike I’m red for her!” She rolled off the pile, and began to cry as she screamed. “I’m not the one who was talking to Eridan every day he cod and hake-ing it all worse! I’m not the one being a complete and utter idiot!”  
A soft knock on the door interrupted her tirade and she slammed the door open, not caring how it bounced on its hinges when she did so.  
“What do you want?!” she near screamed.  
“I was wondering if you want to talk to someone, maybe?” Aradia, of all people, was stood there, smiling awkwardly.   
Feferi felt shame wash over her. Aradia. Aradia Megido, the very girl she had been shouting about in her raging about Sollux. How could she have been so… “I’m—How much did you hear?”  
“A lot - I’m not mad, or anything like that. It’s okay to feel, Feferi. I didn’t feel for so long, it’s a joy to see everyone’s emotions and being able to understand them like I can now. Even anger. Sollux used to be frustrating when we were matesprits, you know. It can help to have someone to talk to, you know? I used to talk to Terezi, but…I don’t think she thinks much is wrong. I mean…It can kelp!” Aradia smiled gently.   
“I—I didn’t mean to be such a beach, truly I didn’t…It’s just, I want to sea Eridan! And they won’t let me, and I can’t hake it, and Sollux is acting like he did no such fin pike torment him!”  
Aradia walked past her into the room, patting the pile with a soft smile, wings fluttering slowly like she was a butterfly perched on a favourite flower, instead of in the room of a princess. “Come talk here. Look, Sollux and Eridan don’t mix well. Sollux knows that, but from what you’re saying, if he won’t let you see him, he wants to protect you. Of course, if the silly idiot just told you so instead of acting like a skeleton with no skull, you’d be happier.”  
Feferi stared at her and then began to giggle loudly at the description of Sollux, wiping her tears. “He’s pike a legless octopus!”  
“Yes! See, nobody wants you upset, not even Gamzee, believe it or not. We just need Eridan back to good health, and…He’s upset, I think. But I think we need to think of you, too. And Sollux can be a butt when he’s being stubborn.”  
“Yeah…Me and Sollux…We aren’t anything o-fish-haul. But I—“  
“You want to be.” Aradia hesitated, and then smiled. “Both of you. But this situation isn’t helping one bit. I think he’s flushed for you, but…With what happened, he’s scared of hurting you, and of course, as soon as he goes into that mood, he’s going to hurt you emotionally. For someone so into duality, he can’t think of the other side of the coin, or comprehend the other person.” Aradia put an arm around her shoulders, almost naturally. “And it hurts, but you need to tell him, not assume he will understand. It’s Sollux, Feferi. You need to remember that for all everyone thinks being with me made him an expert on romance, he sucks at remembering that his intentions aren’t clear. Besides, it was a young romance. We were happy to sit in a hole and hold hands while I dug bones out of the ground. This is new ground – I mean, our lifespans are near each other. You’re a princess, and he doesn’t know how to treat you. You two need to talk, frankly.”  
Feferi hugged Aradia tight, nuzzling her cheek. “Thank you. Thank you, I didn’t know water to do…It’s just, everyone acts pike I did all this to Eridan!”  
“It’s okay.” Aradia smiled. “I think Dave and he will get along pretty well, in your absence. It’s Eridan’s reaction, not your actions, I think.” She patted Feferi on the back. “Sollux can be pretty silly sometimes, but he’s doing the right thing here. Just not with the right words.”  
Feferi giggled. “Thanks, Aradia…What about Gamzee, though?”  
“I don’t know. I mean, that’s your deal, after all!” Aradia smiled slowly, and Feferi held her hands up.  
“No, I mean, we’re spades and all, and fins aren’t so tench anemone-more, but…Sollux thinks he might carp a-boat and hurt Eridan!” Even the thought had her unhappy, the image on Gamzee near Eridan setting her nerves jangling.  
“That…Might not happen. But I could keep an eye on it!” Aradia smiled, vanishing with a red flash, and Feferi felt the silence quite heavily. She knew Aradia would be back, but it had been nice to talk to her, even for a little while. It had been so nice to be with someone who understood, and who was honest. Like when she and Eridan used to talk when they were much younger.  
She stepped into the hall, and looked around for Sollux, holding onto the trident as she did so like it was some sort of comfort blanket. She could only see Karkat, and smiling, rushed up to him, trying once more to hug him. He stepped to the side instinctively.  
“No.”  
“Awwwwwww! Don’t be such a frowny fish!” She giggled and lunged to hug him again, watching him step back with a pout on her face.  
“Well, excuse me, princess, but having you stick your tongue down my moirail’s clown loving throat with all the passion of an exploding sun doesn’t exactly put me in my happy place. And no, that was not a fish pun, just me pointing out to you that I really don’t need to fucking see that!”  
“You’re such a grumpy gills!” She pouted even more, pouring all the charm she could muster into it. Not that it had an ounce of effect on Karkat.  
“Do all your wriggler insults have to alliterate? Is that a requirement of being royalty, you have to learn to alliterate and match all your insults and never ever swear? You just have to sound like a one-sweep old trying to insult their lusus?” Karkat glowered, looking to Feferi so adorably grumpy that she just needed to cuddle the grumpy out of him. Or attempt.  
“Karcrabs! I would never in-shell-t my lusus!” Feferi giggled as Karkat dodged another hug. “C’mon, just one hug!”  
“No. Nope. Riding the Hell No train all the way to the town of Fuck That. I am not hugging you, Feferi Peixes. Do not attempt to hug me—Okay, one hug. One hug. And around the corner away from the nutrition block.”  
Feferi understood and complied, giving him a rather half-hearted hug around the corner of the corridor. “Eridan and Dave are going to the nutrition block, aren’t they?” She squeezed him and Karkat nodded, patting her arm awkwardly.   
“Yeah. We’re all on ‘Separating Royalty’ duty. Even Terezi. It’s just until he gets a bit more himself. Should only be another two weeks, and then we can see how he reacts to you. Dave’s got instructions in the second week to start updating Eridan on how you’re doing, and I’m pretty sure that he’s actually going to take your spade shaped news better than he might otherwise do. By which I mean he might not throw a giant hissy fit or do his kicked barkbeast impression, which always makes me feel like an asshole, especially when he starts chewing his cape. Except he isn’t really wearing one now. And Kanaya is being all motherly over him, which is great, because now she isn’t bugging me over eating junk food.” Karkat wormed out of her grip. “Listen, if you want me to, because I am such a nice person, I’ll talk to Dave and get updates on Eridan for you. I’m pretty sure Strider can get anyone talking mostly through a desire to drown out his stupid voice, but I’ll ask how he’s doing.”  
“Would you?! I’m just worried a-boat him! I know he might not want to sea me, but it’s shell to go through this when nobody lets minnow any-fin!” Feferi grinned happily at him.  
“Yeah, yeah, I’m the best of the best. Just stop showing all your teeth. My teeth are getting envious of their pointiness. It’s a terrible thing.” Karkat began to wander away, and Feferi giggled, skipping after him.  
====>  
Eridan was a quick eater, oddly enough, eating the food that Dave had been instructed to make for him like if it was left in the bowl for too long, it might disappear. It was some sort of fish and octopus soup, easy on the stomach, or so Rose assured him in neat little handwriting, and the ingredients had been grudgingly alchemised by Sollux, who was not only on Feferi-Watch but also in charge of sorting the correct foods for everyone, and Feferi had been quite clear when asked what the main food of a young seadweller was. With regards to the Feferi-Watch, although Dave had been initially sceptical, he wasn’t any longer. The effect of a fish princess - even theoretically - was a bad one at the moment. Eridan had stopped talking, shocked eyes going to the door when they had heard a girl’s voice outside . Dave had assured him that it was nothing, absolutely certain himself that it was the fish princess herself, and after five minutes of relative silence, Eridan had resumed talking, glancing anxiously at the door for the next ten minutes before Dave had asked him about the tattooing method for the tattoo of Alysia Ampora that Eridan was describing. With a wary look, Eridan had told him how the ink of certain lusii was used for the ordeal, coating the spines of a fish that sounded like a puffer fish with said ink and the spine would either be used in a dotted pattern or like a pen. It was agony, he assured Dave, who had a sneaking suspicion Eridan’s own tattoos were done this way, and even the thought had him internally shuddering.  
Eridan was smiling very slightly as he continued to almost inhale the soup, the spoon clattering on the clean plate. “I…Hawe no idea how-w, but that w-was perfect!”  
Rose’s instructions included not telling him where the recipe was from, so Dave shrugged. “Simple fish soup. We do have them on earth, you know, and I used to live near the sea. I used to learn to cook different stuff, thanks to Rose, ‘cause Bro existed on Doritos.”  
Eridan laughed a little. “Doritos? Sounds w-weird…But this is actually really good, my lusus used to make something similar when I w-was a w-wriggler.” His fins twitched as he ate, and Dave breathed out.   
“So, your family seems pretty much fun…” he said casually, after a while, and Eridan sighed.  
“I don’t pretend not to know-w that if I met any a’ them, they w-wouldn’t think I was stupid and needin’ to be culled.” He pushed the last prawn around the bowl with his spoon, and Dave felt a pang of pity for Eridan go through him. Dammit.  
“Look, mister, we don’t play with our food on this meteor. Eat.” He sat down next to him at the table. “And hey, if someone’s a dick to you, that makes them a raging asshole, okay?”  
Eridan grinned lightly. “Even Sollux?”   
Dave tried not to laugh, achieving a spluttering sound as he watched Eridan giggle, before finally managing to gain a straight face.  
“Now, hey, that is just unkind. Just because you two don’t get along, it doesn’t make him a raging asshole, okay? He’s nice to most other people. Just because you two hate each other--“  
Eridan suddenly flailed, going pale and scared as he skittered back, chair scraping against the floor. “I don’t w-want to hate anyone! Especially not someone w-with stupid pow-wers, like Sol!” He picked up the bowl, dumping it in the sink and starting to walk away mechanically before Dave picked him up from behind, putting him over one shoulder.  
“Hey! W-what do you think you’re doing, Strider?!” Eridan struggled, and Dave held on tighter.  
“You can’t be out of my company, Eribubble. Besides, you aren’t meant to tire yourself out, and you were being all friendly until I mentioned hate, so if you tell me ‘I am uncomfortable with talking about that’, it would be better than running away.” Dave walked forward, Eridan flailing.  
“I just don’t like you insinuatin’ that me and Sol are – that w-we are together! W-we ain’t! I don’t like caliginous stuff!” Eridan clawed at Dave, who bit his lip to keep from shouting.  
“You claw me again, we are going to have a problem, and don’t tell me half-truth shit, Eridan. When we get back to the big room, you are going to tell me what the hell is wrong!”  
Eridan looked away, going limp, and Dave continued to carry him. He had to be the wrong weight, surely, but to be honest, his weight was not just the product of what he had accidentally done. Feferi was strong and a good height, but that was because the Empress needed to be. Gamzee might be tall, but compared to most indigobloods he was apparently quite a small one. Feferi definitely had baby chub, which was kind of cute, and Eridan, being a violet blood, was small for his age, and if you stood him next to Sollux, Dave mused, you might see that despite being a skinny bastard, Sollux had height and adult features. Eridan was basically a small person, despite having long legs and arms. And damn, when he was upset, it was instant puppy eyes. How Feferi could deal with this before, Dave didn’t know, but he had definitely so far given in as far as his instincts to cuddle and coddle were concerned.   
So the fact that Eridan was scared made him more determined to get to the bottom of things. It was probably not a good idea to get attached thusly on day one, but it was better than causing him to react like he had.   
Sitting Eridan down on the sofa, he sat next to him, Eridan sitting further away from him than he might have liked.  
“I had a kismessitude. It ended badly. Bad things happened, and I know-w w-what happens in a kismessitude now-w, okay? I don’t like it. I mean, things like that happened with Efluet, remember? And I don’t w-want another kismesis. I mean, I w-would need one if w-we w-were on Alternia, but w-we ain’t, and not needin’ one is one of the best things I could ewer hope to happen to me.” He pulled his scarf up over his nose, and Dave looked at him.  
“What bad things?” he asked slowly, before holding a hand up. “Wait, it was spiderbitch, wasn’t it? Kanaya said you two had history. The same person who thinks it’s acceptable to flirt by killing someone’s best friend, or pushing you off a cliff.” Vriska’s tale had horrified Dave, and Kanaya had been very defensive of her friend, but she sounded a pretty bad person.   
“Add ‘at the same time as hawing a kismesis already’ to that. It’s because she can’t stand people who aren’t perfect bein’ happy. Ewen if they are good, she doesn’t like anyone bein’ so happy and all. I mean, she liked John, seems like, but…I dunno.” The words were muffled by the ratty scarf, and Eridan seemed to be shrinking into himself.  
“So, she flirted with other people in her own way and just...If that’s her flirting, I don’t want to know what her romance was. She sounds like a horrible bitch to me.” Dave put an arm around Eridan’s shoulders. “Look, even that little explanation makes sense to me. You had bad things happen in your relationship, and now you don’t want to get involved again in case bad things happen all over again. Understandable as anything, okay?”   
Eridan looked away, but leaned into him. “Just…I…I mean, someone with control powers. I couldn’t, okay? Not again. I don’t need to. And w-why I’m ewen telling you this, I don’t fuckin’ know-w.”  
“Aw, you know I would make you miserable with pestering if you didn’t. It’s a cold hard fact of the universe, Erifish, that if you don’t tell a Strider what they want to know, they’ll annoy you and bug you until the beans are spilt so hard there are microbeans.” He patted his shoulder, hearing Eridan snort. “But I get it, okay? I’m not even going to bug you about the control power thing. Not yet, okay?”   
“Okay.” Eridan looked up. “I…I mean, I don’t know-w w-whether I should ewen be…talkin’ like this. I told you about the Amporas I know-w of, and that’s somef- somethin’ no one really wants to hear.”  
“Dude, you are lucky Rose packed some books. I’m so reading Harry Potter to you. I mean, I know you hate magic, and it’s science, ‘cause magic ain’t real, but the book isn’t real, so you are going to sit back and enjoy it—“  
“I like w-wizard fiction, Dawe. I just don’t beliewe in real life shit. Magic doesn’t solwe any problems.” Eridan looked curious. “Is it good?”  
“Is it good? Dammit, Eridan, you’ll love it. Seriously. So long as you don’t go all grumpy and ‘science’ on me, I think we’ll have the best time with it. I’ll read to you tomorrow. We set up a new room for you and everything. It’s pretty plain, didn’t know what you like or don’t like, but I would think it’s time to move you there so you can rest. But we set it up pretty sweetly. Two beds, because we’re rationing sopor, but I’m in with you. My stuff stays in my room and everything.”  
“You’re stayin’ in my room?” Eridan seemed confused, and Dave nodded.  
“It’s a round the clock job, Eridan. I’m taking care of you. I mean, not the pale thing, so don’t worry, but I’m taking care of you until you get better. And then we’ll sort whatever you need.”  
“But my sylladex…My stuff. I don’t want people seeing my stuff!” Eridan looked almost panicked, and Dave glanced at him.  
“Dude, I’m not searching through your stuff, chill. It’s just for two weeks, okay. I said as much. Now, you going to lean on me or do I carry you?” He stood up, helping Eridan up, who leant against him immediately.  
“Aw, you’re cuddly. No, seriously.”  
“Only ‘cause your shoulder is bony as fuck!” Eridan turned away from him, stumbling, and being caught by Dave, hands around the seadweller’s middle, Eridan turning violet as Dave manoeuvred him to lean against him again.  
“Okay. Now you can see why we are doing this. But yeah, your room is pretty close by, so let’s get you moved in.” Dave patted Eridan’s cheek. “And don’t worry about anything. I’ve grown up with anything weird you might have stored in your sylladex. My Bro’s idea of a fun afternoon was stuffing a Kermit doll full of ketchup and exploding it in front of tiny little me. I’m too disturbed by my memories for much else to be weird.”  
“But…No…” Eridan curled into him like an unhappy kid, and Dave frowned.  
“Okay, this you have to explain, okay?” We can sit down here and explain or go to the room. If you have people’s heads in your sylladex or something, which is an issue, I need to know.”  
“No, I- It ain’t anything. You don’t need to know-w. Ain’t anything to know-w.” Eridan leant more against him and Dave sighed, wrapping his arms around him, hugging him tight before leading them to the door, towards the room.  
They had not had long to prepare it. It had Dave’s bed moved into it, and the bed they had made for Eridan using the alchemiser has no specific bed covering, although Dave had suggested getting proper sheets once everything was settled. The books Eridan had taken with him when he ran were stacked neatly in a corner, as well as a bean bag that Rose had ordered Sollux to create. It did had a shallow bath in the little attached bathroom, which might be good in a few days.  
A small horned wizard statue had been carefully placed in a corner by Rose, as it was apparently from Eridan’s old room on the meteor. His husktop sat on the plain bed.  
And Karkat had given his copy of what appeared to be Troll Aquamarine to the decorating.  
Eridan picked up the DVD immediately, looking excited, and turning to Dave with a hopeful expression on his face.  
“It’s my favourite, it’s so good!” He was still hanging onto Dave’s arm, and his hopeful expression was magnified by the large glasses. Dammit.  
“Okay, we can watch it on my laptop. Or your husktop.”  
“My husktop!” Eridan was much happier than a moment ago, and Dave moved with him to sit on the single bed, trying not to think how cute it was that Eridan tucked his feet up immediately after kicking his shoes off.   
The husktop made a strange noise starting up, and Dave tucked the quilt around Eridan, watching him slowly as the other started the film almost immediately, bouncing slightly with excitement.  
“It’s about a pair of moirails, an’ one of them about to go into military training. So they are spendin’ their last pale date by the beach, w-when a seadw-weller w-washes up on the shore! They try nursin’ her back to health, and they realise she’s best friends w-with the Heiress. So, w-what else to do but get her on side? Except it’s her kismesis that’s roughed her up. She w-wants a safe place to stay, so they disguise her as a rustblood w-who lost her lusus, and—“  
“Eri, let’s watch it, then you can explain to me. You enjoy your film, okay? And I’ll watch it with you.” It was honestly cute, how he was. Dave remembered talking to Karkat about Eridan.  
“The thing is,” Karkat had said, “he is actually pretty sweet when he’s not trying to be. He’ll be all gentle sometimes, but he lost Feferi after he lost Vriska, and a break up is bad for anyone. He’s a prince to the old system, he’s not used to being around other people. First hate can be the worst thing when it ends. But he keeps trying to be all suave, comes off as creepy, and then everyone gets angry with him, and he can’t understand it. If he’s run away, it might turn out better for him after all. And sometimes you want to tell him, if you stopped trying so hard, if you weren’t so poisonous because you’re scared, because that is fucking obvious, you’d make friends. But he needed to find out for himself. And I felt like sometimes I could either kill him or hug him. He’s an idiot.”  
And maybe Karkat was right. Eridan was already relaxing into being friendly, and when the other started to regain the personality that he had had, Dave looked forward to seeing him.


End file.
